She wanted to die. He arose from the grave. He was sent to kill her. She was trained to kill those of his kind. But fate had other plans. He searched for 119 years to find her. & There's no way in hell he's letting her go. Dead or Alive. They're fated.

[Marcus Marble]

How far would you go to be with the one you love? Would you die for her? Would you kill for her? What if the only reason you're still alive is because of her? What if the reason you came back from the dead, was to be with her? But what if your job was to kill her, but you fell in love instead? And now you're being hunted by your own kind?

Destroy? Or be Destroyed?

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle : “I ran the blade across both my wrists, and collapsed onto the ground. I felt the fire, the ache, the sting. My pulse pounded, my life poured out of me. My vision grew dark. I waited for the darkness.”

Ellie Piper wanted to die. She didn’t ....not yet.....

This is a hauntingly beautiful story, which I found quite original, but, at the same time I have many questions.

At times this book flows beautifully and at other times it was maybe too fast, I wasn’t catching my breath, I needed more information. The potential is for an amazing series of books.

I adore Marcus Marble. He is a beautiful character that wears his heart on his sleeve. He loves Ellie. She is his enemy. Oh what a conundrum this makes for the people who care for him. And can he kiss!

The first part of the story belongs to Ellie, the second part Marcus owns. We learn a lot of answers to this mysterious guy who comes out of the blue and falls for Ellie, appearing instantly in love. But...he has watched her.

Ellie has a difficult life. Her sister Darcy , raped and murdered. Her parents break up. Her mother turns to Nick and substance abuse.

In some ways I felt like part two of this book, maybe should have been told first...maybe, well some of it.

I found Marcus and Ellie’s communication/dialogue at first to be quite staccato in the opening chapters. Which was a little odd but it also worked.

I really enjoyed this gothic read, it was so beautifully poetic in parts and sometimes spontaneous...if I am making sense. It is quite an unusual feeling I had when reading it. The story is gorgeous but sometimes the dots weren’t joined properly. Yet at the same time I give it 4 stars as I really loved Marcus and want to know more.

I loved the Black Gothic Castle and the visual I got from Marcus’s Nevermore.

Marcus is an Evermore a guardian of the dead , guides dying to otherworld, the afterlife and a destroyer of evil. I am still a wee bit fuzzy on that.

Ellie is a Chosen One, a Corvidae Hunter, I just don’t think she fully understands what being with Marcus means. I am a little fuzzy myself on a couple things.

I absolutely loved how birds are used with Evermores. Marcus is a white raven, Michael a black raven. Emilie is a Jay. Lesser Class females are magpies. This I found beautiful in my mind.

There is of course the troublemaker, the one that does not want Marcus to have a HEA - Happy Ever After and that is Jillian. She is in charge of the Red Society. I think I need to understand more some of the people that make up the parts of this world where everybody is dead, but..........

I am looking forward to Black Satin. This is a very intriguing series for me.

How do you make it through writing a dark tragic read? Does it effect you, or can you go into that world , stop for a break or does it drive you to write more in a day, stay in the moment?

That's an interesting question. For me, the answer is quite simple: I am drawn to the dark, tragic, and haunted. The darker & deeper the story becomes, the more and more I am glued to my seat. [This would probably explain why I already have 10k on Raven in the Grave and I started writing it 2-3 days ago, which was May 13th.]

Raven in the Grave is told from Marcus's POV. This means it is darker than the previous two books in the series. & it's also more fun to write : )

Each books has its own tone, or note, which is why I am now calling it The Pretty in Black Quartet.

Pretty in Black was more haunted and melancholy and had more romance .Black Satin, (& this is just my opinion) has more action, information, & drama, not nearly as poetic or haunted, but has a slight echo of that near the very end.

Raven in the Grave feels as though it will be dark, deep & grotesquely romantic.

This could also be reflected in the covers, as the colors are darker on the Pretty in Black cover and Lighter on Black Satin, but become much darker on Raven in the Grave .

Each book kind of has its own theme, or concept. The only thing that probably doesn't change is the intensity level. I think this actually grows each time, but in a different way.

I do understand the mixed opinions. This is why I say it has awesome potential this series. Sometimes a cuddle from a very good editor will make a massive difference. It has that 'something'. I didn't go crazy on my rating and review as it does need a snuggle from an editor, but the basis is WOW!

Sorry about that..lol!! I have gone a tad blog tour crazy. I will be giving myself a break from August onwards as me needs to get into some other stuff on the blog. I was fascinated to see how the Indie writers were going. There are some little Gems amongst them. Some that need a good editor and there is nothing wrong with that, Cassandra Clare has a team of peeps that get her books in shape.